The World War I war film, Passchendaele, which we showed you the really cool first poster for back in April (the one you see here is a second one), has been chosen to open this year’s Toronto International Film Festival giving a somber and Canadian theme to the opening festivities.
Organizers said on Tuesday that Passchendaele, starring and directed by Paul Gross, tells the story of an injured Canadian soldier who returns to the battlefields of Ypres after his brother signs up to fight.
More than 15,000 Canadian soldiers were killed or wounded in the 1917 battle of Passchendaele, fighting in conditions that became synonymous with the worst days of a gruesome war of attrition.
Heavy rain turned the entire battlefield into a quagmire, and the Canadians fought from one shell crater to another under heavy fire. After the battle, nine soldiers were awarded the Victoria Cross, Canada’s most coveted military medal.
Opening the festival is a huge honor for the war film. The Festival rivals Venice and Cannes as the biggest in the world, and traditionally opens with a Canadian film.
According to our latest information, Passchendaele will now be released on October 10, 2008, but I’m not certain if that is in the US or Canada or both.
That sounds like a really great film. I can't wait!